1Department of Anesthesiology, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, 2Department of Anesthsiology, Veterans Admistration Western New York Healthcare System, 3Institute of Lasers, Photonics and Biophotonics, University at Buffalo, State University of New York

Source: Richard Glickman-Simon, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, MA

The thyroid gland is located in the neck anterior trachea between the cricoid cartilage (above) and the suprasternal notch (below) (Figure 1). It consists of a right and left lobe connected by an isthmus. The isthmus covers the second, third, and fourth tracheal rings, and the lobes curve posteriorly around the sides of the trachea and esophagus. The normal gland, weighing 10 - 25 g, is usually invisible on inspection and often difficult to palpate. A goiter is an enlarged thyroid from any cause. In addition to assessing its size, it is important to palpate the thyroid for its shape, mobility, consistency, and tenderness. A normal thyroid is soft, smooth, symmetrical, and non-tender, and it slides upward slightly when swallowing. Symmetrical enlargement of a soft, smooth thyroid suggests endemic hypothyroidism due to iodine deficiency or one of two prevalent autoimmune disorders: Graves' disease or Hashimoto's thyroiditis. Thyroid nodules are common and usually incidental; however, 10% of thyroid nodules turn out to be malignant. They may be single or multiple, and are most often firm and non-tender. A tender, symmetrical goiter typically indicates thyr…

1Department of Reconstructive Sciences, University of Connecticut Health Center, 2Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Connecticut, 3Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Connecticut Health Center, 4Department of Orthopaedics, University of Rochester

1Department of Craniofacial Development and Stem Cell Biology, and Department of Orthodontics, Dental Institute, Guy's Hospital, UK, King's College London, 2Department of Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics, College of Dentistry, King Saud University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

1Biological Sciences Platform, Sunnybrook Research Institute, 2Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, University of Toronto, 3Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto

1Anesthesia Center for Critical Care Research of the Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care, and Pain Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, 2Cardiovascular Research Center and Cardiology Division of the Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, 3Cardiovascular Division, Brigham and Women's Hospital, 4Harvard Medical School, 5Department of Anesthesiology, Uniklinik RWTH Aachen, RWTH Aachen University, 6Center for Immunology and Inflammatory Diseases and the Division of Rheumatology, Allergy, and Immunology of the Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital

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